Health City Cayman Islands celebrates its first anniversary of providing quality and affordable healthcare this month.
Since the state-of-the-art medical facility received its first patient 12 months ago, Health City brought life to the shared vision of renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty, and Ascension, the world's leading non-profit healthcare system, by recording several medical milestones.
"From the outset we were able to celebrate many firsts in highly specialized surgical procedures and innovative healthcare solutions, both for the Cayman Islands and the Caribbean region," recalled Dr. Chandy Abraham, Health City's Facility Director and Head of Medical Services.
Anniversary highlights include more than 2,200 patients seen and more than 200 surgeries and pioneering procedures performed. Among them were life-saving heart surgeries for 16 Haitian youth performed free of charge by Health City surgeons (in collaboration with Digicel and Have a Heart) and the successful installation of artificial heart pumps (LVAD - Left Ventricular Assist Device), a Caribbean first. In addition to the admission of 150 young Caymanians into the hospital's internship program, medical oncology services were added to Health City.
"I had a complete shoulder replacement. My recovery time was really, really fast, and the recovery overall was fantastic," said local musician Ed Solomon. "The experience there was really, really good. It was so good, that I wanted an extra week in the hospital. I would recommend (Health City) to anyone. They are exceptionally good."
Over the year, the hospital's value was also welcomed by grateful tourists: "I feel incredibly blessed that we were given better healthcare, possibly than we could have received in the States here at this hospital," said Colorado resident Charlotte Walton whose husband Ric received emergency cardiac treatment while vacationing in the Cayman Islands.
And it wasn't just the brand new medical facilities which impressed the visitors: "The kindness that was shown to us, and the care that (my husband) has received since we've been here, has been more than just medical care. The people have been so kind, and faithful. They have not only given us good care, but have prayed for us...we've just been very blessed."
Dr. Abraham said striving to provide outstanding and compassionate care throughout every aspect of a patient's hospital experience is at the core of the Health City experience. The next 12 months, he projected, will prove to be "equally exciting with new innovations and developments that bolster the services for local residents, and attract an increasing number of patients from the Caribbean, and the wider Americas who are electing to choose the Cayman Islands as the leading solution for their healthcare needs."
An essential component for its success, he asserted, was the passionate staff and community hosts: "We express our grateful thanks to the people of the Cayman Islands for their continued support. It has been a humbling experience to see Health City Cayman Islands become part of the Cayman community so quickly and how many lives have been saved because of the work of our dedicated staff."
